Search This Blog

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Appearing in the Wall Street Journal: A Powerful and Mostly Painless Lesson in The Press and Positivity

Sure, it's cool to appear in one of the United States' major news sources but I didn't feel that good about it. This past week, I appeared with other long distance hikers in a front page Wall Street Journal article about advances in performance sock technology and how wonderful Darn Tough Vermont Socks are. The thing is, I agree that Darn Tough socks are great. it just didn't come off that way in the paraphrased paragraph I was attributed with. You can read the full article here.

My paragraph read:

Joshua Stacy, who hikes about 2,500 miles a year, says his Darn Tough
socks bunched up, got wet, and gave him toe and heel blisters because
they didn't fit him snugly. Now he swears by socks from Fits Sock Co.
that feature a small toe cup and deep-heel pocket and slide easily onto
his feet, he says.

I felt pretty bummed when I read these two sentences because I realized that my role in the article was to provide a counter argument to the rest of the story. I learned a powerful lesson: never even approach a negative comment during an interview. The severity of comments can be easily spun.

My seemingly negative review of Darn Tough bothered me enough that I wrote them a letter a few days later. I wanted to explain that I still love their socks and raved about them to everyone after my Appalachian Trail thru-hike. I'm just trying FITS right now and they have been quite good as well. Gear choices are a constant experiment.

Here is the letter I wrote Darn Tough:

Hey Darn Tough,I wanted to apologize to you guys for the journalistic spin that was put onmy words in the recent Wall Street Journal Article. To set the recordstraight, I raved about your socks after my Appalachian Trail thru-hike lastyear. Their durability was unparalleled and they were the best socks I hadever used. This winter, I was given some FITS socks to try and I reallyliked the way the hugged my feet. In the several hundred miles of use I'veput on the FITS they have been hotspot free but they have yet to be testedby a thru-hike. I'll be setting out for my PCT southbound thru-hike on June20th and if the FITS fall apart, I have some Darn Toughs on call to be sentto me on the trail.I know, all in all, my paragraph in the article is pretty much meaninglessbut it has really been bothering me and I wanted to get this off my chest. Istill love your socks, I am trying different socks right now but thatdoesn't mean that I don't think you guys make an outstanding product. DarnTough socks are still part of the rotation. I want to thank you guys formaking and standing behind a top quality American product.Respectfully and apologetically,Joshua Stacy

Darn Tough responded with a letter that put my mind at ease:

Hi Joshua,Thank you for writing us. We really appreciate you taking the time to letus know how much you really do care about Darn Tough Vermont socks. Let usknow what happens this year on your PCT southbound thru-hike this year? Itis so nice to hear you still "love" Darn Tough Vermont socks and you feel wemake an outstanding product. We couldn't agree more. As you know, our socksare guaranteed for life. I, personally, don't know of any other sockcompany that does this. Our socks are guaranteed to be the mostcomfortable, durable and best fitting socks you can buy. When you buy oursocks you buy us.We do have a terrific team who works here to strive to make socks that outlast your expectations. We will continue to do this in this small town ofNorthfield, Vermont. We are very proud of our American made product.Again, thank you for voicing your concern. No problem. We just want you toalways be happy in Darn Tough Vermont socks.All the best,Andrea Donahue-SmithCustomer Service RepresentativeDarn Tough Vermont

I'm proud to see "hikertrash" (an endearing term) on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. I'm proud to appear in the same article as professional hiker extraordinaire Liz "Snorkel" Thomas. I'm proud to support and promote FITS socks. I'm also proud to say that Darn Tough socks are incredible! No one else has an unconditional lifetime guarantee on their socks.